WFG women and men know how important having life insurance is. Yet research shows that 30 percent of American households don’t have any life insurance coverage. There are a variety of reasons for the lack of life insurance coverage in this country, including: the misconception that only elderly people need life insurance; that it’s too expensive; or that investing money elsewhere can be more profitable. WFG associates know the real facts, and are spreading those facts to each client with whom they come into contact.

Many people believe that life insurance is only necessary for costs associated with death.  That is partly true, as costs related to funerals and burials are higher than ever. A life insurance policy can help take the burden of those costs off your loved ones in their time of grief. But a life insurance policy can have important uses beyond just covering the immediate costs associated with the death of a loved one, as WFG women and men know. Think about what life would be like for your family if you suddenly became ill or, worse yet, passed away. If you don’t have life insurance, life could become even more difficult for your loved ones. They might not have the resources to pay for funeral costs or any outstanding debts that you may owe. In such instances, loved ones can become burdened with having to pay so many expenses.

What often goes overlooked is that life insurance can cover costs outside of funerals and outstanding medical bills. Life insurance can also cover college tuition, mortgage payments, business loans and much more, depending on the type of coverage you have.  Some life insurance policies also have a cash growth option incorporated, which allows you to withdraw funds for any future goals you may have.

If you do have life insurance, when was the last time you “did the math” to determine if your needs have changed? If you purchased life insurance when you were 25, for example, and are now 55, chances are your life has changed. You should ask your employer if you have the option to increase your life insurance coverage (you should also know the specifics of your employer-offered policy). Additionally, if you haven’t sat down with an insurance professional in quite awhile, then schedule an appointment with one of the many WFG women and men eager to help you ensure that you have proper coverage.

There are numerous WFG women like Kathryn Wang who have challenged the idea of a glass ceiling and built very successful businesses within this unique insurance and financial services company. And Kathryn Wang, like several other women in the company, has also made it a family business. She and her husband, Daning Wu, have focused on each other’s strengths to build a business together. They couldn’t have done it so successfully if Kathryn wasn’t such a strong businesswoman herself.

When Kathryn Wang and Daning Wu met more than two decades ago in China, they didn’t seem like a likely couple. He was an academic, studying geology in graduate school. She was a former athlete studying French at Beijing University after training in martial arts for nine years. Kathryn has risen through the ranks at World Financial Group, and is now a Senior Vice Chairman. With many WFG women in such high positions within the organization, she is in good company. She credits all her success to her and her husband’s ability to work together, and the skills he brings in terms of compliance, licensing, infrastructure, paperwork and training new associates. Kathryn, on the other hand, excels at marketing, recruiting, meeting with clients, building the business, and leading the team.

It wasn’t always so easy, though. Kathryn recalls having little time to spend alone with her husband, let alone time for herself, during the early days of their business. Presentations, appointments and meetings took up all their time. But once they grew their business and had a team they could rely on, things balanced out. She was driven to succeed by a strong desire to be a business owner, but at first she had no experience, money or connections. After working in public schools for many years, she sold computers for two years, which wasn’t the job of her dreams but did teach her a lot about sales and marketing. And it was at that job that she learned about World Financial Group from a co-worker, which was perfect timing, since her husband was about to be laid off.

Now, like many other WFG women, Kathryn is able to balance being a wife, mother and business owner, thanks to the flexibility that her career has offered her. Things may have been tough in the beginning, but after many years of hard work and dedication, she has built up a successful family business.

You can’t turn on the television news or read the newspaper and not be faced with a story about the global economic crisis. News of bank and financial firm meltdowns, foreclosures, toxic debt, tanking markets and record unemployment are everywhere. Listening to that all day, every day, can raise anxiety levels and make people believe there is no hope.

I remember when I was in the Marine Corps, one of the things we used to say all the time was that the battle is not lost or won on the battlefield; battles are lost and won in the minds of men and women. You’ve got to be mentally tough to succeed at any endeavor – be it a crisis or your everyday life. That’s true today more than ever, especially in the industry that we are in. Sure, you absolutely have to be aware of what’s going on in the financial world out there, but you can’t let all that negativity get into your head and affect you, your business and your team.

As WFG women and men, and particularly as leaders in our company, we can’t think what everybody else thinks. And I don’t. I believe for our industry, our company and what we do for families, this is the perfect time. Fear sharpens listening. I’m personally finding that people are more receptive to what we stand for than ever before. All of the financial fundamentals that we’ve always taught families – the need to save and budget, to live beneath their means, to protect their families and to take steps to plan for their financial futures – and the basic financial education we’ve been dedicated to bringing them have always been necessary. But when people are doing well and in a comfortable position in their lives, they don’t want to hear it. They don’t think they need to get their financial house in order.

The same goes for the recruiting side of our business. While our business opportunity is a good fit for many people when they first hear about it, other people might pass on becoming WFG women and men because they’re happy with their jobs and do not want to make a move. But I’ve found that today, more people want to hear our story and learn what our company is about. I see people, industry people and people from all different backgrounds, coming back to our corporate overviews who first came by a couple of years ago and now want to take a second look at us. People who may have been laid off now may really understand a key point about our business opportunity – there is no real job security when your company could decide at any moment to downsize or let you go. Many people are realizing that entrepreneurship, while it has its challenges, is the place they want to be, so they can call their own shots and make an income based on their efforts, not business politics.

The leader who is motivating his team by reminding them that now is one of the best times for our business, that people out there really need what we offer – whether its getting a financial education, getting their financial house in order or looking for a business opportunity – is the leader who can make this a great time for his team, his business and his clients. To help your team, your clients and your business succeed, now is the time when you have to reach deep down and truly be the best leader you can be. Dedicate yourself to the basics of leadership.

If you want to have an extraordinary life, you need to have extraordinary thinking. You need to elevate your thinking. It’s your responsibility as a leader to elevate your team’s thinking. You’ve got to make sure you are reading the right books, listening to the right motivating messages and surrounding yourself with the right mentors: five people who are where you want to be over the next five years. You need to personally do what you expect your team to do. The leader sets the pace of the team. I know I set an example to my team by the time I arrive at the office, by the number of calls I make, the number of appointments I have, the number of personal guests I bring to a corporate overview, the number of families I personally help, my attitude, my health and how I handle myself. I know my actions speak louder than my words. Leaders set the standard and the energy for their team, and this is a time when leaders truly need to lead from the front.

You have to understand the timing and opportunity that is before all of us right now. Our industry was built on turbulent times and has withstood the ebbs and flows of the economy because people need what we do. When I first started in the financial services industry in the late 1990s, the market was exploding and then quickly took a downturn in the early 2000s. What got me and our team through that time was not letting the negativity get to us. We continued to do business as aggressively as we always had. The real business we’re in is the dream business. WFG women and men are in the business of helping people changes their lives either through instituting a financial strategy or starting a business with us and moving toward where they want to go in life. We need to have faith in our approach to educating people about financial concepts and making them understand it’s not a sprint but a long-distance run. If the people we serve understand the financial fundamentals and the benefits and risks to any approach, they, too, may see their glass as half full rather than half empty, and be committed to making changes today that could change their lives and embrace opportunities that may lie ahead.